So… my set up is all ready for 2017, in shaa Allah. I have my A5 dori, my grid paper notebooks (I only write on grid paper… grid is good… heh) and my trusty fountain pens. I can’t wait to dig into journal goodness.

Here are some links that I have found very useful for starting out. They are Juz ‘Amma resources:

Did I tell you that I’ve converted the entire family to my notebook neurosis? Each one of my kids (yes, even 5-year-old Peep) has a dori. Theirs are well made leather covers and I bought them hoping that they will be keepsakes that last my children into adulthood.

Marz keeps a commonplace book, crochet patterns and a smash book and Bear does a lot of drawing and doodling. Peep’s is a passport size cover and it is ma shaa Allah so cute! He has a two notebooks in his tiny TN – one is a sticker notebook and the other contains his reading list. The Dad Man has one too – a larger A5 to our standard sized (11cm x 21cm) ones. He has always jotted down ideas and work-related plans in a notebook of sorts, so I thought he would make the ideal victim candidate for a leather notebook.

Bear’s dori

Peep’s – it is small and fits right in the palm of an adult’s hand but is plenty for his scribblings and studies :)

I’ve recently acquired an A5 one too to add to my dori family (don’t judge me!) and this is expressly for my Islamic studies. I already have an insert for supplications and want to organize new ones for Tafseer and Seerah.

There are alhamdulillah lots of lectures online and for those who are keen on Islamic journaling, Sister Sumayah Hassan of Recite and Reflect has initiated a lovely project called Iman Illustrated. This is an open community of sisters who journal together. It doesn’t matter how artistic or not you are… the idea is to put pen to paper and to reflect on the Quran. Check out the group’s links for more inspiration:

I am keeping my journal simple. I can’t draw for toffee, so I am not even going to try… haha ;) I am just going to try and better my Arabic writing and make my notes tidy. No jazzing things up beyond different coloured inks, no embellishments, absolutely no bells and whistles. Just a simple doable and, in shaa Allah, sustainable effort. I am also slowly moving the girls into Quran journaling. For now, Marz is collecting 25 supplications to write out and memorize and Bear, 25 ahadeeth on good deeds.

So… are you Quran journaling? What resources have you found useful and what do your pages look like?

The kids are more keen about writing and researching these days, so I’ve been trying to churn out more noteboooking pages. I hope that this time, I will be more consistent about monitoring their penmanship.

Here are a few more pages for recording quick facts about the Prophets of Allah (`alayhimus salaam), and the Companions of Rasulullah sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam (radhiallahu `anhum). I hope you find them useful :)

I was born and bred in Singapore and I am pretty much a tropical weather sort of person. I like bright sunny days, balmy breezes and the occasional rain. I am accustomed to comfortable, light clothing and being able to eat ice-cream any time I want.

When I was growing up as a child, I was curious about other seasons, particularly winter. I’d seen pictures and movies showing how beautiful – and fun! – snow can be, so I was quite pleased when I finally had my chance to experience it for myself. I moved to the USA shortly after my wedding with my husband, who was completing his studies. I remember it was early January when we landed in Chicago in 2001. My brother-in-law was there to meet us and his first words to me were, “As salaamu `alaykum … Welcome to America.” He then promptly handed his brother and me mufflers to wear. I thought then, how odd of him, but within minutes, I could feel the wind, so cold that it felt like angry little pin pricks all over my skin. Needless to say, I felt a great deal of trepidation.

Before driving to Indiana, where we were staying, my husband thought it would be nice for me to take a look-see around Chicago. Now, the only images I’d had of winter in the US were of the freshly fallen variety… of breathtaking landscapes and of children delighted at play. Let’s just say that Chicago cured me of my fanciful notions :P That day, I saw only grey sludge and people looking miserable as walked briskly, hands in pockets, trying to stay warm. Still, winter in the US was rather easy to bear on the whole – there was central heating after all… and I did get my fill of pretty winter scenes later on when we moved to Wisconsin :) Nevertheless, I would ALWAYS rejoice when warmer weather beckoned.

When we moved to Pakistan, my hatred for winter reached its peak. It had partly to do with difficulties in leaving my own home country. I would grumble about all the layers of clothes we had to wear and wash (there isn’t central heating here), the dull and dreary days punctuated by heavy rains (forget freshly driven snow!), the mess of blankets and duvets and what not and just the general discomfort that the cold brought.

I’ve begun to soften my stance towards winter though – I admit, I can be a stubborn wretch :) It’s peevish and petty to rail against change and to complain about how painful the cold is when I have a more than adequate roof over my head. Others have not and even have to brave the elements to eke out a living. This dry country which is very much dependent on its agriculture also needs the winter rains.

“And We send down from the sky rain charted with blessing, and We produce therewith gardens and grain for harvests…” (Surah Qaf 50:9)

I’ve begun to appreciate so much about this season and the blessings it brings. My daughters and I did a lovely lesson about how the Salaf viewed winter. We were were bundled up under our blankets after Fajr that day :) It gave us a totally new attitude towards winter alhamdulillah. (You can read the article here.)

Al-Hassan Al-Basri for example said: “How good winter is for the believer! Its night is long, so he prays in it; and its day is short, so he observes fasting in it.” Indeed, the the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam said: “The cold booty is observing fast in winter.” (at-Tirmidhi) How easy it is to fast in winters because we don’t feel the thirst and lethargy of the hot summers.

I love Ibn Rajab’s words about winter – “Winter is considered the spring of the believer, because he revels in the orchards of obedience and goes in the fields of worship and his heart having the pleasure of strolling in the gardens of deeds which are easy during winter.”

I’m going to brew myself a cup of tea and sit by the window now to stitch. I’ll probably put on a lecture to listen to and get some soul food, in shaa Allah. It is cold, but the sky is clear … alhamdulillah. For all my friends out there experiencing winter, I hope you are enjoying it in all its goodness :)